JULY 27, 2012--JULY 30, 2012

JULY 27, 2012

Today was another travel day.  We had to cover 266 miles to get to Whitehorse.  Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon Territories.  We just settled in and made plans for what we would go and see over the next couple of days.  We are in Whitehorse for 3 nights.  It is more populated than a lot of the places we've been through.

JULY 28, 2012

Today we went with the caravan to visit the SS Klondike.  This sternwheeler is now permanently dry docked on the banks of the Yukon River in downtown Whitehorse.  This sternwheeler travelled to and from Dawson City during the 30's & 40's carrying freight and supplies to remote areas of the Yukon before the construction of highways.  The trip from Whitehorse took 2 1/2 days with the current of the Yukon River.  The return trip against the current took 5 days.  It is hard to imagine how hard the people in those days worked.  It was a flat bottom vessel with no keel.  Unloaded it would be 24" into the water and loaded with 300,000 lbs of freight,  it would be 40" into the water.  It would burn 1 1/2 cords of wood an hour to produce the steam to power the vessel.  Since there wasn't enough room to carry all the wood needed they would have to stop along the river at certain places where would stack and reload more wood to continue on.  

SS KLONDIKE

                                                     PADDLE WHEEL

This was a very interesting tour.  Glad we did it.

After the tour of the Klondike we drove over to see the largest weathervane in the world.  It was unbelievable and I honestly thought that it did not move, but yes it does turn with the wind.  

                                     This airplane is the worlds largest weathervane

We walked around the shops in town for a while and then went to church.  In the evening we gathered with our friends on the caravan and went to see the Frantic Follies Vaudeville Show.  A few members of our caravan were chosen to go up on stage and participate in the show.  It was fun and we all had a good laugh.  

The weather has been nice.  Not much rain and it is usually at night.  Having an awesome time.

JULY 29, 2012

This is our last day in Whitehorse.  We went to see the Whitehorse Rapids Fish Ladder and Hatchery.  In 1950 because the area was growing they had to construct a dam for a  hydroelectric plant on the Yukon River.  This interferred with the Chinook Salmon going upriver to spawn.  On the side of the dam they constructed the worlds largest fish ladder.   This enabled the salmon to enter the fish ladder to continue their journey upriver.   

In the afternoon several of the group went on a boat ride down the Miles Canyon.  Miles Canyon is one of the most treacherous parts of the Yukon River.  The Yukon River is almost 2000 miles long.  In the Canyon the current runs fast and in one spot there are whirlpools which make it very difficult to navigate in between the walls of the canyon.  It took us 1 1/2 hrs to get up the river against the current and a half hour with the current to get back.  It was a beautiful day and the boat ride was excellent.  

                                                                   MILES CANYON

                           GOING THROUGH NARROWEST PART OF MILES CANYON  

                                            WITH SUSPENSION BRIDGE OVERTOP 

JULY 30, 2012

Today is the longest travel day we have had so far.  We needed to drive 335 miles over the Klondike Highway to Dawson City, YT.  This is the worse road we have been on so far.  Lots of permafrost which made for a very bumpy and slow ride.  We left at 7:30 this morning and arrived at the campground around 4:30.  At 5:30 we had our social and the campground owner came to talk to us for about an hour.  He told us all about Dawson City and how it was years back.  He also told us what we could do and see here.  We will be here for 3 nights, leaving for Chicken, Alaska on Thursday, Aug 2nd.  Looks like we will have another few jam packed days.  The town (from driving through) is very old with dirt roads and sidewalks.  We are doing a walking tour tomorrow morning.  Looking forward to it.

Tonight we are tired and are going to try to get to bed early.  Here's hoping anyway.  Seems like the sun doesn't begin to go down until almost midnight and will only be like dusk before it starts to rise again.    

      TO SEE PICTURES CLICK ON LINK BELOW:

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JULY 25, 2012

This morning we left Fort Nelson, BC to head to Liard River, BC.  We have a 189 mile drive today.  This is another travel day.  When we arrived and settled in, most people headed over to the hot springs for a dip.  There are three levels in the hot springs,,,,,hot, hotter and hottest.  It was a bit of a walk through the woods to the hot springs with lots of mosquitoes.  Here is a picture of a few of our group in the hot springs.

a few of our group in Liard Hot Springs

Our sites are all in the same area of the campground but lots of trees in between each site so that we can't even see our neighbors.  We stayed in for the night to relax.  Played a little cribbage and got to be early for a change.  


JULY 26, 2012------WATSON LAKE, YUKON TERRITORIES

Had to drive 130 miles today to get to Watson Lake in the Yukon Territories.  Another spot on our map below filled in.  The Maps are starting to look really good.  


This afternoon we all got together and went to the signpost forest.  This is where people put up all kinds of signs saying who they are and where they are from.  There are over 10,000 signs posted here.  
The caravan has a signed that we put up for our Alaska Caravan.  Jesse made a sign for us.  Here is a picture of Jesse putting up our sign.  It is fun to walk through here and see if you can find people that you know who have come here before you.  

Over 10,000 signs behind us

Jesse up on top of the ladder putting up our sign

Tomorrow is another travel day.  Headed for Whitehorse, YT.  We have had good weather but very hot.  Having a great time.  Should get to Chicken, Alaska on Aug 2nd.  

TO SEE PICTURES CLICK ON LINK BELOW:

http://picasaweb.google.com/motorhome234

JULY 21-JULY 24, 2012

The last few days have been travel days.  We have stayed overnight at Prince George, BC, Dawson Creek, BC and Fort Nelson, BC.  Haven't done too much as our days have been longer driving days.


While on our way to Dawson Creek we did stop along the way in Chetwynd to take a quick tour of where they hold the Chetwynd International Chain Saw Carvings.  They had over 120 carvings on display.  People come from all over the world the 2nd weekend of June to carve sculptors out of a log. The log is 8 feet long and they have 35 hrs to complete their carving.  They can only use machines,,,no sculpting by hand tools.  The town pays for all their expenses like travel, place to sleep and meals.  In return the town gets to keep the sculptings.  They were beautiful.  

ONE OF THE MANY CARVINGS

This morning we all went to Milepost 0 (the beginning of the Alaskan Highway) and had our caravan group picture taken in front of the sign.  We went back later and got our picture taken in front of the original sign that was in the middle of the road.  We are officially on the Alaska Highway. 

                                MILEPOST O (Beginning of the Alaska Highway)

                                                                   

On our second night in Dawson Creek we all went to a Wild Animal Game Farm where we had dinner and a tour of the farm with several species of wild animals.  Our dinner consisted of Elk Stew, Bison Roast and Wild Boar with assorted salads and desserts.  It was good and very different.  The tour of the farm was good.  If I had to choose these foods from a menu in a restaurant I don't think it would be a choice of mine nor Jesse's.  It was good, however, to sample the different items.  The best in my opinion was the Elk Stew.  

Last night we stayed at Fort Nelson, BC.  There was a small museum on site that we visited.  Had our travel briefing for today and off to the coach for supper, showers and an early night.  We are tired,,,,lol.   

Gotta run,,,Jesse is hooking up and we are heading to Liard River where there are hot springs.  We are staying in the Provincial Park there,,,,,so no internet or cell service.

Having a great time.  

TO SEE PICTURES CLICK ON LINK BELOW:

http://picasaweb.google.com/motorhome234

JULY 20, 2012

Today was a travel day for us.  We have 136 miles to cover today.  We left the parking lot at the Columbia Ice Fields around 8:30 AM to go to Valemount, BC.

It was another beautiful day with blue skies and beautiful scenery.  Our first stop on our drive was at the Sunwapta Falls.  These were narrow falls in a canyon.  We walked down to the bridge overlooking the falls and took some pictures.  After about 15 minutes we were back in our coach heading to our next destination. 

SUNWAPTA FALLS

Our next stop was to see the Athabasca Falls.  These falls were breathtaking.  They were roaring falls that generated lots of mist in the air.  We viewed them from the top and then walked down to view from below.  We also got to walk all the way down the canyon and look at them from a different perspective.  All this rushing water ended up into a peaceful river.

ATHABASCA FALLS

Back on the road again our next stop was in Jasper.  This is a quaint little town.  We walked around and visited a few shops.  Met several of our fellow caravaners here.  We had lunch and were on our way again.

Our last and final stop was the visitor center at Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies at 12,972 feet.  Another beautiful snow capped mountain. 

MOUNT ROBSON, HIGHEST PEAK IN THE ROCKIES

After another beautiful day we arrived at the campground.  Had a few hours to rest up and do laundry.  The final treat of the day was a delicious supper provided by our wagonmasters and tailgunners. 

OUR GROUP AT THE BBQ PREPARED BY STAFF

TO SEE PICTURES CLICK ON LINK BELOW:

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JULY 18, 2012----LAKE LOUISE

Today is our free day.  We headed out (just the two of us) around 8 AM.  First stop is Lake Louise and  Moraine Lake, about 35 miles away. We stayed off the highway and took the Bow Valley Parkway hoping to see some animals,,,again no luck.   Lake Louise is beautiful.  The lake is milky blue with a glacial backdrop.  We took a short lake stroll.  Lake Louise area provides an essential habitat for female grizzly bears.  To hike here you need to go in a group of 4 so that it is unlikely that you would surprise a bear and be attacked.  If you choose to hike with less than a group of 4 and get caught, the fine is $5000.00.

We also visited the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.  This is a beautiful hotel that looks like a castle more than a hotel.  Can’t afford to buy anything in here unless you want to cut your vacation short (ha-ha).  It is overlooking Lake Louise.  To get a room here will cost you $250.00 to $593.00 a night.  

CHATEAU LAKE LOUISE

We then went on about another 10 miles to see Moraine Lake.  This lake was a dark  emerald green.  The color comes from the glacial ice which forms the lake.  Both of these lakes are in the heart of the Canadian Rockies and are breathtaking. 

Next stop was Banff.  We decided to take a Gondola Ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain.  This took us up 7500 ft to a skywalk that went all around the building to view the Rocky Mountains.  It was an awesome ride up and down.  The view from the top was unbelievable. The mountains are spectacular and pictures do not do it justice.   It took 8 minutes to get to the summit in an enclosed gondola that seats 4 people.  The group in front of us had 4 and the group in back had 4, so Jesse and I got to ride alone,,,,both up and down.  Spectacular except for the fact that Jesse’s camera broke down.  Next stop was a camera shop in Banff.

Armed with his broken camera we went to the camera shop.  Of course it cannot be fixed because it has to be sent back to Nikon for them to fix it.  We’ll have to do that when we get home.  Can’t go to Alaska without a good camera, so he now has a brand new camera that takes even better pictures than the old one.  Makes my camera look like a toy.  I do love my camera though.  Went looking through a few shops while his new camera got a charge.  After an hour we returned for the camera and were ready to take pictures. 

Decided to stop for supper at the Old Spaghetti Factory.  It was delicious and with full bellies we could continue on.  Did a few more loop tours looking for animals…….nope none yet.  Where are they all hiding????? 

No animal sightings but a wonderful day.  The scenery is more beautiful each day.  We move out tomorrow morning to the Columbia Icefields where we will board a huge vehicle that will take us onto the Columbia Icefields.

Having a great time, we are truly blessed.

JULY 19, 2012

Today we left for the Columbia Icefields in Jasper National Park.  The ride is only 117 miles.  We are going high into the Rockies today.  We stopped at many pullouts to take pictures.  Each area is prettier than the last.  At the summit we were just over 6800 feet.  The motorhome did the steep grades with no problem.  We are glad we had all that work done to prepare for this trip. 

This afternoon we went on a Columbia Icefield Glacier Adventure at the Athabasca Glacier.  We all boarded a bus that took us up to the icefields.  We then switched from the bus to an ice explorer.  This vehicle was massive and specially designed for glacial travel.  An experienced driver-guide shared a wealth of fascinating information about glaciers, icefields and their impact on our environment.  Mid-point on the tour we got to disembark and spend 20 minutes walking on the glacier.  We brought empty water bottles with us to fill up with glacier water,,,very cold and taste wonderful. 

We are spending the night in their parking lot right in front of the glacier.  It is beautiful.  We are so fortunate to be able to spend 3 nights in the Canadian Rockies with all of this beauty surrounding us. 

The wagonmaster and tailgunner are making dinner for us as I write this.  Imagine, I don’t even have to cook tonight. 

Tomorrow we are crossing into a new time zone.  We will be 3 hrs ahead of Eastern Standard Time.  Tomorrow is another travel day.  We will be leaving Jasper National Park.   Our destination is Valemount,  BC.

TO SEE PICTURES CLICK ON LINK BELOW:

http://picasaweb.google.com/motorhome234

JULY 17, 2012----BANFF, ALBERTA, CANADA

Today was a travel day.  We headed to Banff and Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada.  We have a very short drive today, only 73 miles.  Didn’t get started until noon.  We had to stop for a 3 day pass to the National Parks before entering Banff.  Got to the campground around 3 PM, settled in and went to our caravan’s social hour. 

Around 6:30 several couples got together and went out for a short ride to see if we could see any animals.  No luck for us,,,maybe tomorrow we’ll see something.  We did stop by the Bow Falls (a cascading waterfall).  Got some pictures and then the mosquitos decided to join us. 

We then headed into the town of Banff.  What a beautiful town right at the foot of the mountains.  The buildings here are beautiful. We will have to come back again tomorrow and walk around more.  We got an ice cream cone and headed back to the campground.  Tomorrow should be a full day of touring.  We have a free day and will be on our own to sightsee. 

 to see pictures click on link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/motorhome234

JULY 16, 2012-----CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA

Today the bus picked us up to take us to the Heritage Museum.  This is a museum depiciting life in the 1800-1900's.  They had buildings of each era depiciting what it was like living in those times.  This was different than the museums we have already seen.  They had all different buildings making it look like an old West town.  The roads were all dirt and all the people working there were in period dress.

We also got to take a ride on the train that goes all around all the different villages.

We had a wonderful lunch there.  It was definitely high class.  It was a shorter day today,,,,think we need that,,,,we're all tired from the last two days at the stampede.

Looking down the main street

Jesse buying a raisin bread in the Bakery

Our group on the train

Bar

Our group at lunch at Heritage Park

We are leaving here tomorrow and heading for Banff and Lake Louise.  We will be there for 2 nights.  Only electricity, no Water/Sewer.  It is a national park so I'm sure there won't be any Wi-Fi either.  Then the 3rd day we will be going to the Columbia Ice Fields where we will be dry camping,,,,so again no Wi-Fi.  Guess you won't be hearing from us for at least 3-4 days.  Just thought I'd let you know so you won't be looking for posts.

We are having an awesome time.  Our States Map and Provinces Map are gradually getting filled


for more pictures click on link below:

.http://picasaweb.google.com/motorhome234

JULY 14, 2012---CALGARY AND ROPE PLAZA

JULY 14, 2012


Well we are finally in Calgary.  This year is the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede.  The Stampede is like a huge, huge State Fair along with the largest rodeo in the world.  To be in the rodeo you have to qualify,,,,so only the best of the best are here.   On weekends the city puts on a free pancake breakfast for anyone who wants to attend.  It is a tradition of the Stampede.  There are several chuck wagons set out all over the city that are manned by business people.  They get up very early in the morning to mix pancake batter and start to cook pancakes and bacon for everyone who wants some.  It is really something to see.  You can go from chuck wagon to chuck wagon to get your free pancake.  You can have as many as you want.  They do not serve them with syrup,,,,,just make the pancake and put a slice of bacon in the middle of it and serve on a napkin,,,,like a walkabout pancake.  They also have a band playing to entertain everyone as they stand in line.  It was a very good band too.

CHUCK WAGON PREPARING PANCAKES, THE GIRL IN FRONT IS READY TO SERVE A PANCAKE TO THE NEXT PERSON IN LINE

OUR GROUP STANDING IN LINE WAITING FOR A PANCAKE

After we had our fill of pancakes we all went to the Glenbow Museum.  This was a wonderful museum depicting time from the First Nation Indians until today.  We only had a few hours in this museum.  We could have spent the day there. 

 Oil is the biggest part of their economy in Alberta.  Calgary is the financial center of the oil industry. There are financial companies here from all over the world.  

Before we left the city we got to enjoy a small First Nations Indian parade.  Then we boarded the bus and headed to the Calgary Stampede.

PARADE

 We attended our first event at the Stampede.  We had wonderful by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  They do what they call a musical ride.  The horses perform many different maneuvers to music.  I have posted a few, some were too intricate to get a good picture of.  Everything is so synchronized and beautiful.  They performed for Queen Elizabeth on her 50th anniversary.  

Royal Canadian Mounted Police entering the Stampede Grounds

Starting a formation

"X" formation

This formation is called the DOME

July 15, 2012

Today is our 2nd day at the Stampede.  The bus picked us up at 10:30 and we didn't get back to the motorhome until 1 AM.  Definitely a full day.  Today was the finals in the rodeo competition.  It rained most of the day and the track was very muddy.  Jesse took some awesome pictures (600 of them).  Don't worry, I won't bore you with all of them.  If you want to see a few of them, you can click on the link at the bottom of the page.  You especially need to look at the last 7 pictures (they are marked).  

After the rodeo finals, we were entertained by chuck wagon races.  Four chuckwagons at a time would race.  It was different.  There were 36 chuckwagons in all.  There were 9 races ending with the top 4 for the finals.  

This Stampede paid out 2 million dollars to the winners of each category.  First place in each division won $100,000.00,,,2nd place was $25,000.00,,,,3rd place was $15,000.00 and 4th place was $10,000.00.  

After the competitions, we went to the Stampede Club House for a wonderful buffet dinner with prime rib.  After dinner and a short walk around, we were back in our seats in the Stampede Arena for a finale show and wonderful fireworks.  It was a first class show.  They sure know how to do things right out here.  Would love to come back again.

For more pictures especially those of the rodeo click on the link below:

  http://picasaweb.google.com/motorhome234

JULY 13, 2012-----RCMP MUSICAL RIDE

JULY 13, 2012


Today is a travel day.  We have to drive 179 miles to get to Cochrane, Alberta, Canada (just outside of Calgary).  On our way we stopped at Fort MacLeod to view the fort.  This fort was the first police fort to be established to bring law and order to the Canadian West. We also got to watch the Famous Musical Ride.  This is a replica of the official  Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride.  If you don't know what this is, it is a performed by Cadets (all of them happened to be girls) on horseback doing all kinds of figured maneuvers to music. The official ride is done by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police which we will see at the Stampede.   It is amazing how precise and coordinated these maneuvers are.  It was a great place to visit.

We then stopped at a bank to exchange a bit of money to Canadian and to a bakery for a sweet treat & coffee and then off to the campground.

Fort MacLeod

Cadets entering the Fort for inspection

Entrance to the Fort Museum and Musical Ride

Cadets that did the Musical Ride

Tomorrow we will be going to the Stampede.  Can't wait.  Having an awesome time.  Caravan is great so far, glad we decided to join them.


to view more photos click on link........http://picasaweb.google.com/motorhome234

July 3rd through July 9th--Great Falls, Mt

July 3 - July 9, 2012....Waiting for Caravan to start.

We are sitting in Great Falls, Montana at the Dick's RV Campground waiting for all of the people in our caravan to arrive.  We have been out and about doing a little sightseeing of the area.  We visited several dams and waterfalls.  Also have gotten chores out of the way.

Each day a few more people arrive.

July 10, 2012........Caravan to Calgary and Alaska begins

Our 60 day caravan to Calgary Stampede and Alaska begins today in Great Falls, Mt.  We have 19 RV’s going on this trip along with a WagonMaster & a Tailgunner…..so 21 RV’s in all. 

People have been coming in gradually over the last week and we’ve had time to sit around and chat and meet everyone.  Today is our official beginning with an Orientation from 1 to 3 PM.  Lots of information has been given out.  Sounds like we are going to have a fabulous time. 

Tonight our WagonMasters & TailGunners have prepared a dinner for us of salad, Roasted Chicken, Baked Beans and cake for dessert.  They have been very busy today preparing for our Get Acquainted Dinner, which I must say was a huge success.  After dinner, several door prizes were given out.  Didn’t win this time, there is always a next time.  Everyone is anxious and ready to leave tomorrow morning.

The group gathers for Orientation

July 11, 2012------On The Road

Today is a travel day.  We left the campground around 8 AM.  I think most people got a fairly early start, as we are all excited to begin our adventure.  We seem to have a very nice group of people. 

Before we start our travels for the day, the TailGunner comes around checking everyones tires and our hitches to make sure everything looks good.  Mrs. TailGunner stands outside with her walkie/talkie and CB Radio checking as each person leaves the campground.  She’s checking to make sure all antennas are down, all hatch doors are closed and locked and anything else that may have been missed on our rigs before we leave.  We call to her on our radios as we leave and she reminds us to turn our odometers to 0, keep our headlights on and to have a great day.  They stay behind until everyone has left.  They then leave the campground and check every site that they recommended we stop to sightsee to make sure no one has any problems.  They are always the last to arrive at the campground, making sure we are all safe and sound. 

We have 218.3 Miles to cover today.  This will bring  us to Hill Spring (Great Canadian Barn Dance & Family Campground).  We will stay here for 2 nights.  We will be crossing the border in 115 miles.  Everyone is a little anxious about crossing.  We have been told they sometimes search your coach for alcohol, fruits, veggies, tobacco and guns.  We were all very fortunate to pass through with no problems.  We are now in Canada for the next 3 weeks.  No talking on the  phone for that whole time as it is $.69 a minute,,,,however, we can text on my (Rita’s) phone.  Weather is hot.

Adventure Caravan has given us a Travel Log.  Each day is posted in here with mile markers as to where to turn and things to stop and see along the way.  It is very well put together.  Each day before we start we need to set our trip odometer to 0.  Then they give us turn by turn directions by our odometer readings.

July 12, 2012......Hill Spring, Alberta, Ca

We are at Hill Spring, AB at the Great Canadian Barn Dance & Family Campground.  It is unusually hot here.

Today our tour bus arrived at 8:30 AM to take us to the Remington Carriage Museum, the world’s largest carriage museum..  This is a museum of old and restored horse-drawn  carriages from the 1800’s to early 1900’s.  There are 250 vehicles on display here.  We also got to go on a Carriage Ride.  A very nice museum and would highly recommend seeing it. 

A Hearse

A schoolbus

Schoolbus

A Camper

We then re-boarded the bus for an hour drive to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.  We were treated to a private tour by a Native Indian from the Blackfoot Tribe.  He told us about the lifestyle of the prehistoric Plains Peoples, which included how they gathered their food, their ceremonies and family life.  There was also a display of buffalo standing on the edge of the cliff ready to jump off.  In the fall of the year the Indians would gather thousands of buffalo and move them down a path towards a cliff.  They then caused a stampede. The buffalos at the front of the stampede got to the edge and tried to stop but the buffalos in the back kept pushing ahead and they all went over the cliff.  We watched a short moving showing how it was all done and then he brought us up to the top of the mountain to the kill site. 

He then explained to us how Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo Jump got its name.  According to one of the Blackfoot oral traditions, a young boy wanted to witness the plunge of countless buffalo as his people drove them over the sandstone cliff.  Standing under the shelter of a ledge, he watched the great beasts fall past.  The hunt was unusually good that day.

As the bodies mounted, he became trapped between the animals and the cliff.  When his people came to do the butchering, they found him with his skull crushed by the weight of the buffalo carcasses.  This is why they named this buffalo jump “Head-Smashed-In.”

We spent several hours here and could have stayed several hours longer if we had the time. 

Buffalos getting ready to jump off cliff

Top of Mountain at Kill Site (cliff)

On our bus drive back to the campground, we passed some huge farms.  He explained to us that one of the farmers farmed 90,000 acres of land.  Each of his combines (machine that harvests the crops) cost one million dollars.  He had at least 15 to 20 combines along the road.  The farmlands are beautiful. 

Tonight we were treated to dinner and a show at the Barn in the campground.  Dinner was very good and the show was absolutely wonderful.  It was a family musical tribute to the West.  It was a father, son & his wife and their two sons, the wife’s father, and an uncle.  I can’t believe how talented they all were.  The boys were 14 yrs old and approximately 19 yrs old.  They could play several instruments expertly.  They all had wonderful voices too.  When the boys were just toddlers, the parents said it was mandatory that they take piano lessons.  This would enable them to learn how to play other instruments later on.  The older boy plays the saxophone, keyboard and guitar.  The younger boy plays the fiddle and keyboard.  Lots of talent on that stage.

The meal was prepared by the wives and served by the men.  The boys helped to clean up.  A true family affair.

A long but wonderful day.  Both museums were great and the dinner and musical was excellent.

JUNE 27, 2012 ....... WEDNESDAY

As we stated on our last post yesterday, we had a bad storm.  Today the sun is out but the winds are still very, very strong.  We took a ride to another section of the park which is north of the regular visitors center in the small town of Babb.  Then we continued on and went into Alberta, Canada for a short ride. This part of Canada, like where we are, has very large cattle ranches with flat rolling plains for miles and miles, with the mountains far off in the distance. We did not do much today.  We came back and hit some of the shops and that was it. The wind was strong all day long.  Tomorrow we leave here and head to Great Falls, Mt. about 160 miles southeast. We are about 5 days ahead of schedule.


JUNE 28, 2012 ....THURSDAY through JULY 2, 2012....MONDAY


We left Glacier National Park this morning and headed for Great Falls, Mt.  We called the campground where we are to rendezvous with the caravan to see if we could get a site earlier, but they are all full.  We are scheduled to camp there a week before (July 3rd) our caravan rendezvous on July 10th so we need to find a place to stay for 5 nights.  Jesse called the VFW in Great Falls and they told us to come on over, they'd find a place for us.  We arrived there late in the afternoon and they set us up in their parking lot and told us to stay as long as we'd like.  Very nice and accommodating people.  Dry camping for 5 days,,,,,hmmm,  we'll see how that works out.  We felt funny staying here that long, but they insisted that we stay.  On Thursday night we went into the VFW for a couple of beers.  Figured we needed to support their club.  Turns out it was a slow night and we sat with the bartender and his girlfriend (soon to be wife) for hours just chatting.  We had a great time.  Went back in on Friday night for supper (they have a grill going on Friday nights) and another beer or two.  Everyone is very friendly, in fact the Post Commander came in and bought us a drink.  Everyone came and talked to us. Having a very nice time.  They even gave us tickets to their farm teams baseball game for Saturday night.

Saturday afternoon we went over to the visitor center to find out what there is to do in this area,,,,turns out,  there's plenty to do.  We took a nice ride along the Missouri River and then headed for church.  It was one of the nicest masses we have been too.  They had a man cantor with a lovely voice.  Besides the organ there was a trumphet player,,,,,very emotional.  The priest was of Irish decent and gave a wonderful sermon.  Glad we will be here again next weekend to visit this church. Well a quick dinner and off to the baseball game.  Weather is perfect for a game.

Here it is Sunday and Jesse is coming down with a cold.  He's not feeling very good so we decided to stay in and just relax and hopefully he'll feel better tomorrow.  We did take a ride over to the campground where we will be going on Tuesday to check it out.  The caravan that leaves before us on July 3rd was there.  They were all at a pizza party so we didn't get to talk to anyone.  Probably go back to chat on Monday.

Well all is well and we are having a wonderful time, but do miss the family.